10 Years strong!

The Torah

The Torah is the most sacred religious article in Jewish life. It is perfectly intact just as we received it some 3,300 years ago. It forms a timeless connection to the past and is the key to a Jewish future. It evokes something special in our hearts, as it represents the unbroken chain of Jewish tradition and survival. 

The Torah scroll is hand-written by a Sofer, a scribe, on parchment, a detailed process that can take over a year to complete. Everything from the character of the scribe to the quality of the parchment and type of ink are carefully prescribed. The shape and size of each of the 304,808 letters, as well as the spacing of the lines, must be perfectly done by hand. 

When a new Torah is welcomed into a community it is a tremendous honor and blessing to the community and to the souls of those in whose memory the Torah is dedicated.

Mafrat Aranova

This Torah is dedicated to Mafrat Aranova of blessed memory by her grandchildren Vlad & Lana Benjamin.

One Torah, One People

Every Jewish soul is represented in one of the letters of the Torah. Just as each letter of the Torah is essential to its integrity — its absence invalidating the entire scroll — so is each and every one of us is critical to the whole. Without labels or differences, regardless of background or affiliation, the Torah connects us to each other, one letter at a time, making us “One People.” 

The Torah’s 613th mitzvah/commandment is for each of us to write a Torah scroll. This mitzvah can be observed by commissioning the writing of at least part of the Torah scroll. By dedicating a letter, word, verse or chapter in the Torah for yourself, your family members or friends, or in memory of departed loved ones, it is considered as if you have written your very own Torah scroll.

Ten Years

A decade symbolizes permanence. Over the past 10 years YJSA has cultivated a vibrant, dynamic, and warm young Jewish community in San Antonio. To mark this milestone, a new Torah is being created especially by young Jewish adults connecting the past, present, and future of the unbroken golden chain of Jewish life! Please consider joining in this great mitzvah!